THE MILITANT Page Saturday, March 8, 1930 THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN GERMANY AND THE CRISIS IN THE COMMUNIST PARTY The Legend of the New RevoluBy KURT LANDAU the case to day, tf to day the wide messer of the revolutionary proletariat stand aside tionary Wave.
in a waiting attitude, tho should mass unemployement is exciting the un The slogan of the political mass strike be grateful, first and foremost to the Barmet with catastrophic failure already the Our sister party has measured up to rest of the entire working class. The exeits tasks. It is our party which is stim cution of the Young Plan in the form of ricade philosophy of the Communist leadArst and second of May; later it met with ership and the inethods of pseudo revoluulating, promoting, and organizing the imposing its whole burden on the masses, an even fainter echo. It is the very failure grandiose revolutionary revival of the the forced increase of the indirect taxation, of this watch word that should have opened applies, inasmuch as it proclainis struggle tionary gymnastics that the daily laboring masses. It can be stated that the custom duties, and tax remissions to the the eyes of the Thaelmannites to their exto be an end in itsell.
not a single day passes in Germany which bourgeoisie accentuate this unrest.
asgerations. if they had eyes to see.
But what the tears and what is not marked by the mobilization of But it is a long way from the dissatis In 1923 which is represented to have will probably deter it from driving the Comthe masses and street fighting.
faction of the masses to their revolutionary so much in common with the present situ munist Party into a state of Illegality after These are the words in which the will to struggle. If anything sounds the ation there were no less than 47 politithe fascist precedent, is the awakening of the French Communist organ, Humanite de death knell of the present policy of the cal strikes, embracing 3506 shops and scribes the situation in an artic masses, who are sympathetic towards Comentitled, German party it is obviously the fact that 320, 000 workers. The number of working munism and who would be better to Street fighting the position in Germany s, days lost through political mass strikes in 1929, the year of the most brutal and recontrol the policy of the party than at amounted to 1, 048, 283. What of 1929? Not How the German Communist Party actionary offer. sive of the social democratic present. Finally it 18 precisely in a condiItself appraises the position is clearly re government, our Party has not been able to a dozen shops, fewer than 30, 000 workers tion of legality that the contradiction bevealed by the illegal leaflet which it dis advance the working class a single step joined in a political mass strike. despite tween the policy of the party and the revolutributed on the first of February, proclaim forward. The parliamentary and democratic the events of May First.
tionary necessities becomes more and more ing that the tottering charlots of capital Illusions of the masses which a far seeing The economic struggles, for the year crass, so that the outlook for the gradual ism at break neck speed careen towards Bolshevist leadership could in this stage 1929, no less contradict the party thesis of disintegration of the Communist Party apthe abyss and destruction. Every issue have surmounted, have instead remained in the stormy will to struggle and the resopears more attractive to the social demoof the Berlin Rote Fahne purports to rep tact, thanks to the adventurist and zig zag lute counter offensive of the proletariat.
crat than the risk of illegality, resent the workers as engaged in conquer policy of the Thaelmanniteg. In so far as The following comparative index figures But in the last analysis, this question show this to be the case.
ing the streets. in putting the police to these democratic Illusions were underniined, will not be settled by a careful weighing flight and here and there in setting up it was, however, not in favor of Commun Year No. of No. on No. of work of the pros and cons byZoergiebels and barricades.
ism but of national socialism (Hitler) which Workshops strike ing days lost Grzynski, but by the further development But daily the hard language of facts has doubled and tripled its ranks in the 1929 115, 000 1, 800, 000 of the class struggle in Germany. The industrial centers.
1928 contradicts this legend of the rising revo5, 672 328, 629 8, 519, 713 tragedy of the situation lies in this: that lutionary tide. Of the three million unem Do we find ourselves then, on the eve 1927 8, 144 232, 704 2, 945, 815 the Thaelmanns and Neumanns objectively ployed who with their families compromise of an acute revolutionary situation of a These figures bear an unmistakeable play into the hands of the Zoergiebels and some six to eight million proletarians, not new 1923? Positively not. But if there meaning. They show that the party lead Severings, inasmuch as their pseudo revoluone percent heeded the call of the party were a real Bolshevist party in the leader ership has not succeeded in combatting tionary gestures push the revolutionary to join in the hunger demonstrations the ship, the German working class could in the reformist trade unions polidy. The proletariat into passivity.
call of this great and powerful party which deed organize its effective resistance to the leaders of the free unions, on the other So for instance, the illegal leaflet of the rallies three million votes developing capitalist offensive. If, indeed, hand, did succeed to a large extent in bolparty on February first called for demonWhen the workers of Hartmannsdorf the Cerman Communist Party organized stering up their class collaborationist policy strations for the slogang All Power to Dear Chemnitz in red and highly indus a systematic struggle against the Young of Industrial Peace.
Workers! Long live the struggle for the trialized Saxony were recently shot down Plan, rallying the workers in the shops and We have the same picture of the suc dictatorship! For Soviet Germany! Belike rabbits by the unbridled police fury, the unemployed about the concreto tasks cesses of the struggle for the streets. It sides, this the leaflet contains a long disthe factories were not closed down, the of the day, it could lend wings to the ac the party was yet able, despite all its pre sertation on the History, Forms, and Techworkers did not storm out of the shops to tivity and initiative of the masses and preceding mistakes, to lead out tens of ihou nique of Barricade Fighting.
demonstrate against the fearful bloodbath, pare them for the victorious counter offen sands on to the streets, the position has beThe masses responded to these slogans as was the case last Fall on a hundred sive of the morrow.
conie considerable worsened since then. with their feet: they did not appear.
different occasions in Austria. No, the wide The first of Feburary which was to have And louder than ever the bourgeois masses of the proletariat remained as dumb III. Radicalization of the Workers, been the signal for a large scale mass action press is calling for exceptional measures as the red shops of Berlin were the first Political mass Strike, and Strug against unemployment and the rise in the against the and second of May when Zoergiebel was cost of living, resulted, it is generally reshedding the blood of the workers. The gle for the Streets.
cognized, in a pitiable flasco. The Struggle for a New Left workers remained as silent as when in SepSomething has already been said in the one were to believe the party press, tember the party called for the struggle Wing in the Party foregoing concerning the radicalisation of the outlawing of tho party is a matter only against the worsening of unemployment the masses. It would be ridiculous to deny of days or weeks at the most. The party reliel, and later called upon them to fight Up till now the gainers from the enorns as the Rights do that a certain degree leadership is daily engaged in preparing ous mistakes of the party have been exHilfording finance prograna In December, of radicalization of the masses is percep the corking class for the imminent illegality clusively the Right wing, which has beThe most important symptom of a ristible. That, despite Thaelmann and Neumann, of the and proudly proclaims that come a serious menace to the Party. They ing revolutionary wave. the extraordinary the German party has remained a mags the Party cannot be proscribed, as little as seize hold of the glaring mistakes and derise in the activity and initiative of the party with great sympathy in the proletar the Red Front Fighters League.
masses. is missing.
feats of the party leadership to broadcast lat and that this is the case despite the iv. Is the Party Threatened by front policy, trade unton tactics, etc.
their own opportunist views of the united it. Towards the New 1923. sense of shame that these sympathizers feel at the bombastic phrases and systematic Illegality?
The one time Left Wing in the Party; in the last few weeks and months the self deception of the Communist leaders and that had already for the most part been analogy of 1923 has been used more and press due to the circumpstance that It is a fact that the left wing of the expelled years ago, has up to the present more often in the German party as well as great masses of the proletariat want to bourgeoisie, particularly the Social Demobeen unable to re form its ranks. The in the entire Comintern press.
fight. That they do not fight, that they do cratic party and its press, energetically supdecisive obstacle to the reorganization of The German party leadership and the not follow the battle slogans of the party, ported by the Democratic Party, demands the forces, has become the Leninbund. Of Comintern regard the present situation of is not their fault but exclusively that of a exceptional measures against the Communist its greve confusion in the fundamental German capitalism hopeless. They point leadership which is incompetent to apply Party. In this sharpened offensive against international questions in connection with to the extraordinary rise of the index of the ABC of a bolshevist policy.
the party, the Right press has been left the Russo Chinese Contlict, the declaration unemployment, the symptoms of crisis in The Thaelmann leadership has placed far behind the Vorwaerts and the pacifistof Rakovsky, etc. much has been said and section of industry and talk aiready of the the German party in the state of self de democratic Welt am Montag. This rewritten. No less fateful for the Leninbund approaching collapse of stabilization, The lusion in which the Austrian party has markable fact naturally has its deeper exand through it, for the whole Left movement, general social crisis following the collapse found itselt for many years. Since 1919, planation.
has been its sectarian and opportunist policy of the stabilization will, 80 the theoreti the Austrian Communist Party has been The more the Coalition regime crumbles, in all the basic German questione. Above cians of Stalinism think, reach in the im waiting. except for short intervals. for the more the heavy Industrialist and right all, its radically false position on the Commediate future, the intensity and profun the revolution. Dedicated to the bold idea wing circles of the German bourgeoisie de manist Party, which the Leninbund condity of 1923. The pace of this process, they of the Armed insurrection, the Austrian mand the head of the Muller Government, giders as already lost. This attitude which consider, will be accelerated by the begin party has not, by and large, worked in the after Hilferding has already been ignomini. underlles the organizational form of the ning crisis of American capitalism.
mass organizations and workshops; and ously driven from the cabinet all the more Leninbund as an independent organization, There can be no doubt that a series whenever the proletariat begins to move, does the Social Democracy inveigh against has led to tho complete isolation of the of crucial phenomena are making them this party immediately proclaims the genthe Communist Party, in the hope of Im Leninbund from the party masses and has selves felt in German capitalism. The clo eral strike and only stops short of talking pressing its indispensability as a police resulted in permanent crisis of disinsing down of industries, bankruptcies, etc. of soviets.
guard of the bourgeois republic. The legend tegration, in the course of which a nunber does not however, signalize the approaching In the Third Period the Austrian of good comrades of this organization have general collapse at German capitalism but of the putschist plans of the Communist school has attained to international ramParty, which are circulated daily by the separated themselves from the Leninbund the extraordinary degree reached in the pro ifications. The theses of the Wedding Conand the policy of its leadership and emcess of the concentration of capital. The capitalist press, is the axls about which gress of the German party explain why the revolves the struggle of the to barked on open opposition.
year 1929 was record breaking for the num struggle for every day demands has outpreserve the Coalition. The proletarian dead The Leninbund which, at the time It ber of mergers, cartels. In a word for the lived Its usefulness in the following terms: of Hartmannsdorf, Worms and Hamburg was founded, was an organization of some gigantic advance on the road of concentra the process of the radicalization of the are an integral factor in this struggle.
thousands of largely active comrades, now tion. The enormous increase of unemploy masses has made rapid progress and 18 ekes out only a shadowy existence. Erment also is intimately bound up with this, Apart from this, the Social Democracy being transformed into open these action.
cept for some more active and firmly esThe gigantic concentration makes possible has latterly become confident that the ComThe balance of forces has undergone a tablished groups (Westphalia, Baden, Centhe vast extension of the rationalization munist Party is impotent to carry on a fundamental change. The May Day strugtral Germany) the Leninbund no longer process. In the most important branches successful fight for ite existence in a state gles in Berlin are a turning point in the disposes anywhere of strong positions.
of German industry production in 1929, de political development of Germany. The of utlawry. The inglorious end of the Red The meandering way of the Leninbund spite the numerical decrease of the workers conditions are maturing for the approach Front Fighters League which on its proemyloyed, actually increased. That e, probas caused the Left groups that had reof an immediate revolutionary situation, in scription simply disappeared, confirms the ductivity actually rose. It is just such mained in the party, to adopt a waiting the course of the development of which the Social democracy in this expectation.
attituds, to avoid being overtaken by a like phenomena that reveal the fundamental The possibility of the suppression of question of armed insurrection will inevitcontradictions of stabilization. In the same fate. This is particularly true of the so called ably arise on the order of the day.
the Comunist PaPrty certainly exists.
measure that the productive forces develop It is from this appraisal of the situation But the clearly perceives that Wedding Opposition which dominated Wedthey come into conflict with the prevailing ding two years ago. the most proletarian that the party leadership approaches every the banning of the would be anysocial order.
and powerful districts of the party in Berquestion. This fateful over estimation of thing but popular; granted anywhere near lin.
In the wake of these processes the so the given processes of crisis cripples it in a reasonable policy of the party leadership.
cial antagonisms have also grown unusuthe task of the real systematic organizaThWedding Opposition too has many the struggle for legality could evoke a deep Contoued on Page al! Acute. The huge proportions of of Germany response from the masses. this is not